Totally Awkward Tuesday

In honor of Tova Darling's Totally Awkward Tuesdays, I thought I'd share one of my totally awkward experiences:

While in college, I was dating a fella who lived about 2 hours away and my roommate and I decided to surprise him with a weekend visit. Also in on the "surprise" were his friends, whose apartment I arrived at approximately an hour before he was due.

After a 2 hour drive, of course I have to pee. Who doesn't? So I made a beeline for the bathroom. In my defense, this apartment is VERY poorly designed and some idiot architect had placed the bathroom right smack in the middle of the living room. Well, I clearly was in too much of a hurry to lock the door and current b/f's best friend decides he needs to go too and opens the (outward-opening) bathroom door and I am on display in all my glory, with approximately 15 college co-eds present and staring.

Honestly, I don't know who was more embarassed, me or him, but I think it was me--hello, pants around the ankles! He disagreed.

Totally awkward.

Honest Scrap

Natalie from Growing Up a New Jersey Wife tagged me for the Honest Scrap Award. The rules for this award are to tell your readers 10 true things about you that they might not know. Then you have to tag 10 other bloggers to do the same. So here goes....


1. I have a sister and two brothers--all 3 are half-siblings.
2. I have lived in this small town my whole life and have no desire to leave it.
3. I love chick lit.
4. I always have atleast 2 books going at any given moment (I can never stick to just one because I get bored).
5. Johnny Depp is my favorite actor and #1 on my "list".
6. I won't answer my cell phone in the car while one of my favorite songs is playing on the radio.
7. I prefer cats over dogs.
8. I enjoy calling my husband "Jonesy" (his middle name is Jones). He hates it.
9. I laugh out loud when reading the Bertie & Jeeves stories by P.G. Wodehouse.
10. I enjoy Hannah Montana (the show). It's a guilty pleasure.


Tag, you're it!

1. Edub Graphic Art & Design
2. just a girl in the world
3. Keeping Up With the Copes
4. modmomME
5. Red Fish Circle
6. The Pink Needle
7. Creative Eye Studio
8. Aurora's Garden
9. little bit funky
10. Joy's Hope

Now it's your turn!

My Nephew

I just love this kid. He turned 2 last week.

Not-So-Beginner Handbag

I was recently browsing Martha Stewart's Web site when I found this cute purse pattern and instructions:

Martha said more than once that this was a beginner pattern. Well, Martha, I beg to differ. Though it was somewhat easier the second time around, my first attempt was severely wonky. The second attempt turned out much better and I might would even say "Etsy-worthy", but it still didn't feel "beginner". The first few steps were very elementary, but when it came to sewing up the "arm holes", I wanted to pull my hair out.

I will take post a pic of my second and more successful attempt soon. I really like how it turned out, love the purse, and am so glad I made it, but don't let Martha fool you into thinking it's for a "beginner".

Try it out, you'll like it. Good night, and good luck.

Cute as a Bug!

Remember my caterpillar burp cloth? Well, I finally made a mate so I can sell them as a set. What do you think?

Edub Blog Giveaway!

My friend and graphic designer, Erin of Edub Graphic Art and Design, is giving away two 5x7 notecard designs on her blog. Plus, they're printable so you can use them anytime you want! How great is that?

Enter the giveaway here and if you guess her baby's birthday (she is due July 11 with a little girl), you win! All you have to do to enter is follow her blog, guess her baby's birthday, and blog about the giveaway. The winner will be notified when the baby has been born and when Erin recovers enough to get back online. I will definitely be waiting to see pictures of that beautiful baby!

Good luck!

Hope for Paws

One day while browsing Flickr, I came across Hope for Paws. They are a non-profit organization that takes in stray animals of all kinds, provides veterinary care, and finds forever homes for these loving animals (or releases them to the wild, for some). As an animal lover, I am moved by what they are doing. Please visit their web site for more information.

Eldad Hagar is the founder and today is his birthday. He asks that you purchase their book, Our Lives Have Gone to the Dogs, in honor of his birthday. All proceeds go to the animals in need. You can get the book here.

Happy Birthday, Eldad! Keep up the great work!

Yart Specials from the Bluegrass

Art + Yard Sale = Yart Sale…..

…and that’s what Etsy is having! Lots of shops on Etsy are having special deals and pricing right now, but the place to be is always in the Bluegrass, so check out the list of Bluegrass Etsy Street Team shops who are participating and what they’re offering:

Shops Offering Free Shipping:

creativeeyestudio.etsy.com
ladonnae.etsy.com
savvystitcher.etsy.com (that's me!)
sewcutebykatie.etsy.com
thepinkneedle.etsy.com

Shops with Other Special Deals:

saysyou.etsy.com—20% off on most items plus ALWAYS free shipping
smackinart.etsy.com—10% off on original watercolor paintings/collages, plus order a
whimsical portrait and get a free 8x10 print of that portrait
spoolofplenty.etsy.com—offering a section of special Yart Sale deals, plus free shipping
on purchases over $5
vernonave.etsy.com—50% off selected handbags
veskomom.etsy.com—15% off any item

Please support the Bluegrass State (that's Kentucky, for those who don't know) and show your love to these shops June 10-14!

A Work In Progress

I must say, when I first heard about the Twilight series, I was skeptical. However, last October I was at a work conference and Borders had a table set up for book sales. I picked up Twilight and considered it (I had forgotten to bring something to read in my down time). I asked the employee who was working the table if she had read it and she gave me a rave review. Still, I was skeptical, but decided to give it a shot. Four days later, I had completed the book (carrying it in my purse everywhere I went and reading any free second I had). When I finished the first, we were in Gatlinburg (this was a very busy travel week for me, I can tell you) and I made my husband take me immediately to the closest BAMM to find the second book in the series. Thank goodness for the Garmin! I had the second book finished by the time we returned home, and as you can imagine, had to buy the third and fourth consecutively upon finishing each. If you are a female and haven't read this series, you are seriously missing out! I was immediately hooked. If you've read the series, you know what I mean when I say it was ALL I could think about the entire time I was reading it, and honestly, for a good month following. I was so sad when I finished the books that I nearly went back and re-read the first and fourth again (my 2 favorites). Now, with all the hype over New Moon coming out in November, I've decided to go back and re-read atleast the first book, which has inspired this embroidery:

I really love the font and hope my embroidery skills can do it justice. I'll probably put it in my shop when it's complete.

Etsy Yart Sale June 10-14

Starting tomorrow, I will be participating in the 2nd annual Etsy Yart Sale! What exactly is a “Yart Sale,” you may ask? The term Yart is an artistic spin on the traditional yard sale:

Art + Yard Sale = Yart!

June 10-14 I will be offering FREE SHIPPING on all purchases in my store!

I will try to list new items daily, so be sure to check in to see what's new! I know lots of other members of Team Bluegrass will also be participating, so be sure to check out their stores as well. To find them on Etsy, use search tag "teambluegrass".

To search all stores on Etsy who are participating, use the tag "Yart" to find them. To learn more about the Etsy Yart Sale, you can go here.

Please support handmade! And what better time to do so than during the Yart Sale?

Western Baptist Hospital Childbirth Fair

Exciting news! I have been asked to be a vendor at the Western Baptist Childbirth Fair in August! It's a fair at which new and expecting mothers and families can meet and learn about the area doctors and businesses that will effect them during and after their pregnancy. I am really excited about itl, as it will be my VERY FIRST event like this. Up to now, I have only sold to family and friends, as well as on Etsy, so it's a pretty big deal, I think!


I have approximately 2 months to get ready, so I better start sewing! I want to have a good variety set up for purchase, as well as some examples of custom orders. I will definitely be very busy for the next 2 months! I will keep you updated on my progress.

If you are in the Western Kentucky area and are expecting a baby, you should definitely check the childbirth fair out on August 15th at Western Baptist. I went last year with my sister-in-law and she RACKED UP on free baby items and info. Here's a picture of the crowd from a previous year.

New Burp Cloth!

I made a new burp cloth and I really think it's my favorite one yet. It's a caterpillar!

The body was machine-appliqued and the antennae were hand-embroidered. I stitched it up in probably less than an hour, but since it was my first one, I'm sure it will go quicker next time.

I must say, I'm pretty proud of the little guy. My husband was pretty impressed, too. He especially liked how the stitches made it look like he had "fuzz", which I hadn't even noticed! Mr. Savvy Stitcher is so smart!

I want to sew up another one to go with it to make a set for my store but don't have any patterned fabric to coordinate with it. I do have some solid colors that will match though. Should I do a totally different fabric with a pattern? I'd really like them to coordinate. Any suggestions are appreciated! I'll have to make a boy's set next.

I also made some glass marble magnets which I think turned out pretty nicely as well. I just love magnets! Before long, my refrigerator will be covered and my husband will think I've lost my mind (if he doesn't already).

Summer is Here (Almost)!

I was on MarthaStewart.com today and as usual, she has a slew of new sewing projects up to get ready for summer. Hopefully I can try some of them before summer is over!

I really like this Ribbon Water Carrier:

My only question is where do you find these little springy clippy things? (Yes, that's the technical term.) Martha certainly did not offer up that information.

They also added some very simple embroidery to a fairly plain bag to dress it up for summer. I will definitely be using this technique as seen on this Circle-Patterned Tote:

These are just a couple of the many projects Martha has shared. Go to her site to see them all. She is always full of great ideas.

Since I didn't have time to do any sewing last night, I did make some more cover button magnets for my store.

Maybe I'll be able to get some sewing in tonight.

The New Face of Savvy Stitcher!

Just got my new layout up today. How do you like it? Does it have a good vibe? I think it does!

Layout created by Erin of edub. You can view her blog here.

Craft Therapy

After a crummy Monday at work, I got to go home and give myself some craft therapy last night. It was definitely needed. I made a coffee cozy for my Etsy store...

and some cover button magnets...

The magnets were for a swap, but I love them so much that I think that I'll make some for my own fridge, too--and maybe for my Etsy store.
On the news front:

*edub from Etsy is working on designing my blog. I hope to have the new layout posted today, so be sure to stop back by. Her work is amazing, so I highly recommend her. She's really easy to work with, too!

*I am a member of the Bluegrass Etsy Street Team (Kentucky Crafters on Etsy) and we now have a new Web site! Check it out when you can at www.kentuckyhandmade.com

Weekend Crafts

This weekend I made a new burp cloth for my Etsy store. I really meant to get a whole lot more done, but it didn't happen. Never does. Anyway, here it is. Here's hoping I can do more tonight. I need some craft therapy.